L'universite Le Francais
by stephanita
Summary: When a student like me falls asleep after a long week of chaos, I start having weird dreams that somehow relate to my childhood memories for as long as I can remember. I'm studying in Aix-en-Provence, and this is my opportunity to start a new life here but will the obstacles I face soon fade away or suddenly become part of reality? I don't own the characters btw! All fiction!
1. Chapter 1

Stephanie Morse Septembre, vingt- sept, Deux Mille Quatorze

L'université Le Français

It is finally Août (August), and it is time for me to go out of the country to study abroad in Aix-en-Provence. I'm traveling all the way towards the south of France to explore the culture, eat all the famous French cuisine, and paint the beautiful sceneries like Paul Cezanne did for his portraits.

While I may have traveled out of the country before, I've never been alone on an avion (air plane) so that will be a big adjustment for me as I leave the United States for a while. I've been studying French for about four years now, and I had just graduated with a BA in French as a foreign language and a minor in Studio Art. I just entered graduate school, and I joined one of their student exchange programs prior to graduation. I plan to get a master in Art History, so that I can be able to teach art and history classes aboard and maybe even live in France for two years, then I'll move back to the states without renouncing my American citizenship. I of course would need a working visa since I'm a non French citizen, but it would definitely land me a well paying job. Not to mention a good internship later on.

Bonne journée!

Part I: Bienvenue la France!

After that long twelve hour flight from San Francisco to Paris, I'm finally in France and ready for a nap already. While I managed to get over my separation anxiety being away from my family and my life back home, I still am not used to how things will work out for me. My mind was filled with endless questions.

_What if I get lost? What will I say in French? Will they like me? _

It wasn't long before I found my group at the baggage claim; it consisted of fourteen students from all over the world. Me and another girl were the only Americans in their group.

"Bonjour, je m'appelle Mme. Foret. Comment vous appelez-vous ? «

« Bonjour, je m'appelle Stéphanie. Je suis américaine et habite de Etats-Unis en Californie »

« Enchantée mademoiselle »

« Bonjour classe ! Bienvenue en la France ! Comment vas-tu ? »

« Comme ci, comme ça » « Je vais bien »

« Très bien ! » said Mme. Foret « Je vous présente Monsieur Maurice Mouillot »

"Hello! And welcome to Paris! I'm Monsieur Mouillot, but you can call me Maurice if you like." "First off, we will fly to Lyon, take the train to Marseille, and then have a bus take us up to Aix-en-Provence which is only a one hour drive." "We got all your plane tickets right here, but we must hurry before the plane departs without us!"

After another hour of flying, plus two extra hours on the train AND the bus, we were finally here!

"I thought this trip was going to take forever." Said one student, "Flying here from Germany was such a pain in the neck!"

"Your journey was not as bad as mine was, my flight got delayed by trente minutes! I for sure thought I was going to miss the flight to Lyon coming from Greece!"

"I was bringing my army knife from Switzerland, but they literally almost confiscated it at the security check. Thank god they let me put it in my suitcase."

I was just looking out the window minding my own business.

"Where are you from?" One of them asked

"Mill Valley, California. My name is Stephanie."

"Oh? You are American! I'm Beatrice and I come from Brussels."

"I'm Albert from Berne, Switzerland"

"My name is Gina, and I come from Germany."

"And I'm Athena, I live in Santorini."

We talked on the bus until we made it to our destination, the group decided to stop for lunch at a local café. All of us sat down to order our food from the menu.

"Je vous dire un boisant orangina, quiche lorraine, et crêpe de nutella s'il vous plait? »

Then the waitress takes the menu. « Merci beaucoup mademoiselle

"Wow, somebody still knows her francais" smiled Mme. Foret

"I'm a natural."

All of our food arrived, until Albert noticed a very unpleasant smell on his plate.

"Excusez-moi, qu'est-ce que c'est?"

"C'est l'andouillette" said the waiter, then he left.

"What is that? And why does it smell like merde!" Merde= shit

I had to explain it to him no matter what his reaction will be afterwards.

"Andouillette is a French sausage made of pork chitterlings aka the intestines and colon of a pig's entire digestive system"

"Oh merde! I thought I was going to have a regular andouille sausage!"

"Looks like somebody needs to get their eyes checked." Said Gina

But to my surprise, Albert actually ate the whole thing. Hopefully his crème brulee will be able to take out that awful stench from his mouth. Unfortunately he had some gastrointestinal problems in his own colon that he had to make a unbearable flatulence in the bus as we drove off on our way to the dorms.

When we arrived, I was so happy to go upstairs to my room that I paid for to have as a single. I didn't pack that much, because I wanted to buy some more clothes and other special treasures while I study here for two semesters. I know it's a long time, at least for the most part. Only, I wont necessarily be having fun all the time, there will be some devoir (assignments) for my art and history classes that I will take there. Plus it's all in French too, but I doubt there will any confusion during my stay here since I'm a very fluent speaker.

Chapter 2: A la fac

My classes didn't start until twelve thirty and three. So that gave me enough time to sleep off the jetlag over the weekend. I was very excited to learn in a different culture, and be away from my county for a while. I got everything I needed for all my classes, my checklist look like this:

List:

Un dictionnaire –check

Un crayon- check

Une livres-check

Un cahier-check

I technically had everything I needed to succeed. At least that's what Americans like moi would say… Other than that, I'm all prepared.

All of a sudden, I was j'faim (hungry) and I had to get some lunch before history class. I walk down to where the market was taking place, oh how I loved looking at all the poule de Bresse, Lavende de Provence sachets, freshly picked fleurs (flowers), perfumes, legumes (vegetables), patisseries, boulangeries, and other stands that hold souvenirs waiting for me to buy them all. I decided to buy some mini perfumes for me and my mom, a sachet, and some other stuff too. Then I realized I ran out of euros to buy my lunch! Damn it, now what do I do?

I walk over to the café to see what was on the menu, maybe some steak frites and the soup de jour will fill me up. Id definitely would love to try that cauliflower soup. I was paying at the cash register until I realized that I only had twenty euros on me.

"Don't worry mademoiselle, I got this!" A young guy with curly dirty blonde hair and blue/green eyes walked up with another twenty euros in his hand.

"Merci" I replayed

"I'm Julian."

"Enchantee, je m'appelle Stephanie."

"Tu parles en francais?" Julian asked

"Oui"

"Vous parlez tres bien"

"Merci."

After we talked and ate our food together, I looked at my montre (watch) and realized that I was going to be late for class! Julian was in my class too, and we both had to rush to the liberal arts building.

_Mieux vaut tard que jamais _

Better late than ever.

Chapter 3 : Une semaine a la fac

Just when I thought that studying was going to be easy, it was a lot for work than I have ever imagined.

After I walk out of class, I hear Albert complain about his classes and devoir (homework).

"Je deteste la physique! Le cour c'est tres difficile! »

Athena catched up to him saying "Pourquoi? Tu es brillante, intelligent, et optimiste !"

« Oui, pour je n'aime le professeur pas tellement. Surtout l'examen ! »

« J'aime l'histoire et la psychologie, mais je n'aime pas les maths spéciales ! C'est très difficile et impossible être reçue a les examens. »

« Je aime mieux dessine et retrouve des amis en le café. Pour je déteste travaille et étudie le physique ! »

« Moi aussi, je aime mieux voyage en Europe. Je ne optimiste en les maths. »

« Agréable »

I was waiting in line to get my food until this stuck-up long haired blonde guy happened to push past me, he had eyes that shined like the blue sparkling topaz with non frame rectangular glasses. While he maybe cute, me and a few other students got fed up with him.

"Hey! What the hell are you doing? "

"You're not the only one who is hungry!"

"Sorry if my special placement needs are making you all jealous." Said the guy.

"Whatever, it still doesn't mean that you can just cut in front of people like that!"

He just laughed and walk away to join his female fans who just coo over him while he's eating his lunch craving all the attention he's getting from his "secret admirers"

"That guy is such an ass."

"It looks as if he was just born with a very big ego." Laughed Albert

"Yeah, or the fact that his testicles never grew since puberty." Said Gina

"He's unfortunately my cousin," said Julian "I basically have to share my apartment with that rich snob! One time he brought home a girl from his date with her, and I ended up having to clean his dirty mess he made from "accidentally" spilling champagne on me! Worst day of my life! And he barely even talks to me as if I never existed in my own house!"

"Je suis desole Julian." I said.

"If that guy lived with me as a roommate, I'd sure give him a piece of my mind!" said Albert

"Yeah good luck with that, he's also an amateur beat boxer if you can believe that. Its like all he loves doing in his free time is talk about himself and push people around, all the girls even walked out on him because of that and I highly doubt that he keeps his relationships with all his ex-girlfriends." Said Julian rolling his eyes.

"It's not high school for crying out loud." Said Athena

"Yeah, try telling that to Mr. I'm ten times better than you in class and in life." Said Julian

I was walking over to the trashcan to throw out my empty soda bottle, then I proceed and return my lunch tray. Mr. Snooty pants happened to pass by, and I accidentally bumped the tray into his face. The whole cafeteria was roaring with laughter as the chocolate cake splattered all over his face, I looked up and realized that I was in real deep trouble. With that, I ran out of the café before he even said something to me.

After the day was done, I was hanging out with my friends at the restaurant having my dinner. The first course was escargot, followed by beef bourguignon, and a grand Marnier soufflé with raspberry white chocolate crème angais.

"Omg! I can't believe the look on his face!" said Julian "I couldn't stop laughing."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 4: Les amis de nos amis sont nos amis

"Yeah, I totally agree with Julian!" said Gina

"Who wouldn't, he did deserve it after all" Albert said in response

« _Quand le renard preche, gare aux oies_. »

"That's definitely a good quote for a womanizer like him" said Athena

"Yup, that also means a message to the peacock that he better watch out because I could do it again in a heartbeat. The quote also means that when I'm out to achieve my goals, he better watch his so-called 'good reputation' since I already know how to easily take it away from him."

"Like stealing candy from a little enfant!" said Beatrice laughing uncontrollably

"Exactly, well said mon ami."

Then after dinner, we went to one of the French night clubs for some cocktails. Me and my friends started dancing to the vibrating dance, techno, and hip-hop/rap music.

That was just the beginning. After having two Pimms cocktails, I see somebody staring at me with a seductively dangerous look from across the bar.

To distract me, I joined Athena, Gina, and Beatrice for some risqué dance moves on the stage next to the DJ. We continued to act like show offs until he finally gave up and disappeared, only to suddenly show up right behind me.

"_Plan B girls_"

We all decided to make a dash for it, but we needed to somehow distract him and knock him out completely so that he has no memories of this at all. Or spread revengeful rumors about me based on his "accident" in the cafeteria.

Albert snuck up behind him with a sledge hammer, but I knew something would go seriously wrong if he proceeds.

"Al-" But just as I was going to say anything, a glitch started to go off from the ceiling and we had to get out of there fast. We ran after Julian with Albert quickly whacking the sledge hammer on that guy's forehead, knocking him out unconscious. Somehow, I felt in my heart that I couldn't leave him here to die and dragged him onto my back and ran as quickly as I could. When I made it out, I could feel his pulse. He was ok and still alive with no injures other than a bruised forehead. I saw Julian, and we both were able to carry his cousin up to their apartment where we successfully placed him on his bed with an ice pack.

I was just glad he was ok, but I felt like it was my fault for causing all this to happen even though they were both accidents. One caused by me unintentionally, and one from Albert who obviously had gone too far due to the fact that he had sipped way too many cocktails that impaired his ability to attempt and try to commit such a dangerous act.

All I wanted to do now is go back to my room, and just forget this all even happened in the first place.

Chapter 5: Le Sympathique a l'après midi

Weeks and weeks have gone by, and then it was finally November. It's been two months since the chocolate cake and sledge hammer incident. Mean blonde dude was still his usual old self hanging out with a bunch of bimbos as always. I avoided him at all costs, especially when he started to talk about me behind my back. That was all he ever did since then, including name calling, shoving me on purpose, peeking into the women's restrooms and locker rooms just to see if I am there (yes, that includes the shower stalls) and embarrass me whenever I was in my shitty mood swings every "month". He even tried to look at and invade my inner most personal thoughts, e.g. looking over my laptop, my bag/purse/backpack that I got from Paris when I was nineteen, my iphone, ipad mini, my notes, even my own personal diary that's filled with very private info on everything about me from a-z. Did I forget to mention that he eavesdrops in front of my room unknowingly?

I just wanted to strangle him! If I find out about him saying that he saw me naked or whatever, he will be so sorry. Everyday just kept on getting worse, like him calling me non-stop (god knows how he got my number), sending me friend requests on Facebook, letters, and well… yeah, you don't want to know the rest of the details.

On the bright side, I'm still able to enjoy my third experience in France. Exploring all my favorite places around the small towns, buildings, churches, and gardens.

Everyday after my classes, I go to the nearby church to pray for wellness, success, love, protection, and anything else I wish for the rest of my well being. Then, I would go to the markets for some food sampling, baguettes, fleurs, and of course shop for clothes. Sometimes they would have a mini pet stand, where you can adopt un petit L'oiseuexs (birds/parakeets), rabbits, guinea pigs, even cats (French: Les chats).

But it all depends if I can really go or not, they usually have their markets on Wednesdays and Fridays including the weekends. In my opinion, the weekends are a lot better, because they don't pack up until five in the evening (In France, they look at their clocks a lot differently. They use the military version as opposed to the American one, so if you were to say 5:20 pm, it's written as 17h20 instead.) Classes were another thing to keep in mind since devoir is a big priority for me to complete before I do anything else.

"Excusez-moi, quelle a l'heure est il? »

Still hidden beneath my laced shawl, I looked up and saw what's his face that I try to avoid everyday. I didn't take it off, because he would then try to hurt me even more. I ran away before I gave an answer.

I wanted to sleep off the Jet Lag the minute I got into France. But somehow I managed to transport my mind to Montmatre (if I spelled correctly) where Amelie the movie originally took place. In the dream I meet with Amelie and Nino, we decided to converse in French and Amelie gave me advice on how to control my emotions when dealing with the buffoon in my university. Then my mind got transported to Wonderland where I run into the Queen of Hearts 3, at first I thought she was going to chop my head off.

But then again I was wrong, she was just misunderstood alot. And she told me the story about how Alice tried to run things with her utter nonsense.

"Oh how awful!" I said

"Yes dear, life is never fair when dealing with life's struggles-OFF WITH HIS HEAD!"

That scared the living crap out of me, apparently someone wasn't listening to her orders as directed.

Then I woke up, back to reality.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 6: Une Presentation

After studying for cinq heures en la librairie, I went back to my room to write to my best friend Paigey, who is a junior in college finishing up her studies in French so that she can transfer to Aix-en-Provence next semester in January and stay there for the reminder of the year. We e-mail each other in French for some extra practice, and it helped further our comprehension a lot better. Doing so really made a big difference, rather than listening to my French tunes most of the time. In the email, I asked her about how thanksgiving was, even though its been a month and it's getting close to Christmas time.

_Bonjour mon amie!_

_Comment ça va? J'ai sommeil et froid, il n'y a pas __chauffage__ dans ma chambre. Plus il y a une tonne de devoirs, pourquoi ne peux-il des actions de grâces vacances en France ? Maintenant je commence a manquer a la maison juste a y penser. Quand avez-vous des termes milieu ? Comment votre famille et tout le monde est en train de faire retour à la maison ? Tu me manques ! Ecrire bientôt de retour, je ne peux pas attendre de vous voir en Janvier ! Nous pouvons être colocataires !_

_Câlins et de baisers _

_Stéphanie _

_Post-scriptum. Il est pas les devoirs que je suis fatigue de, je suis aussi fatigue d'être harcèle et traque tout le temps par ce blond avec les lunettes rectangulaires. Je ne sais pas ce que je fait pour mériter cela, mais je pense qu'il pourrait faire tout cela a cause de ce qui est arrive a la cafétéria avec moi cogner accidentellement en lui et laisser le gâteau au chocolat voler dans sa face non intentionnellement. Il pensait évidemment je l'ai fait exprès ou quelque chose, pensez-vous que cela est la raison pour laquelle il essaie de me faire du mal en quelque sorte ? Où est-ce la jalousie ? Ou pire… une quête d'attention ? _

Ok so there is a lot to comprehend here, basically what I said in the email is I asked how is she doing, I also mentioned how tired and cold I am in my room that has literally no heating at all, wishing that I had thanksgiving break due to all that devoir I've been dealing with for the past few weeks now, and how excited I am to see her after New Years. The last part is well, the part where I mention about that rude douche bag who I accidentally bumped into with cake splattering all over his pretty face.

I will check back later to see what she wrote in response, I'm dying to know what she says. Paigey is in advanced French after all.

After my humanities class, I have exactly two hours before my next class at fifteen thirty (military time for three thirty). I walked over to the café to get my usual soup du jour , and salad along with sparkling water to help curve my appetite. After I eat, I walk over to the flower stands to see what kind of fleurs they have. I look around and I see a lot of pastel colored roses, sunflowers, lavender stocks, lilies, and any blossom you can possibly imagine. Just when I thought I wasn't going to find which one I liked the most, me yeux marrons chocolats (my chocolate brown eyes) spotted my favorite fleur that I remember smelling the last time I was in France in the south burgundy region.

_Le chevrefeuille _

When I was walking around in Beaune, this grassy golden floral captured my nose mind, body and soul. The heavenly scent smelled so good that I got a purse sachet to put in the pocket of my Paris tote bag so that the scent doesn't leave, imprinting its fragrance as a remainder of my post secondary trip of a lifetime at age nineteen. I decided to purchase a bouquet of them, and departed the stands just in time before my next class.

If you were wondering what kind of flowers I got, the name "chevrefeuille" means French honeysuckle, and in Victorian times they symbol happiness. I window shopped, and saw a perfume labeled "Dauphine de Papillons" it was a small rose-violette bottle with a gold butterfly cap encrusted with white, pink, and yellow cubic zirconia's, the leaves were a beautiful evergreen color, and the bottle also had four golden fleur-de-lis on each side with a white stud in the middle of each of them. I sniffed the perfume, and I read the scent description, it had honeysuckle, lilies, green grasse, sandalwood and amber. It even came with a matching tray. I checked the price, and thought woah! Sixty euros for all of that? I only had twenty euros, and was so bummed about not having enough to buy my favorite scent in the world. With that, I left the store all sad and desperate for wanting that perfume. I just hope nobody buys it before I do.

I fall back to sleep, and I'm transported back to Wonderland. The Queen of Hearts and I were having tea in her fancy parlor where she's yelling at all the cooks to pick up after themselves. And I thought I was bossy and demanding!

"Those peasants can't even make a decent strawberry tart anymore, first they burn the first batch, then they have the nerve to just make jokes about how big my head is!" The queen said while sobbing.

I reassured her that everything will be alright, after all people can be fools nowadays. After I spent time with the queen I was able to teleport back to Paris to meet with Amelie and Nino to help plan for their wedding, they plan on getting hitched in June. Collingion was just being a complete ass when he refused to cater for the buffet so we had to go to one of the fancy bakeries to have the professional chefs help out with the cake and stuff. The dream went on for hours and hours until it was time for me to go to class.

Chapter 7: Fins tristes et heureux commencements

A month passes by, and I feel so depressed. All friends were asked to leave the school (except for Gina), I'm feeling homesick, there is no one to talk to, and Paigey is like the only person I talk to when I'm alone. Beatrice left because of her constant partying; Albert started struggling with devoir that it made it hard for him to makeup for it, and Athena's grandmother was not doing well, so she had to get a plane back to Santorini in order to help her mom take care for her. Gina on the other hand, was doing just fine and we still talk to each other. The good thing is that we will still keep in touch on Facebook. What made me super sad was Julian wanted to go study architecture in Florence, Italy but he got into a fight with his "cousin" about it, and then saying mean things to Julian right to his face. Julian had enough of his cousins immaturity, and from what I heard was that he told his cousin that he was better than him, and that he was just jealous because all he does was pick up girls, and just waste his life trying to be Mr. cool than actually doing something for a living. His cousin started to yell, throw things, and say to Julian "I do have a life! And I know what I want to do for a living, and that's become a teacher/inventor or even a CEO making a good business happen due to my intelligence, dedication and creativity! I don't give a shit about what people would think, because everything will be done by me! So you can just suck my…." And then Julian punched him in the face, his nose started to bleed. Then Julian said "Get out of my house! And never come back, you have until one tomorrow to pack up all your things and move them into the dorms. My flight departs at three, and I expect you to be gone before I leave got it?"

I was shocked; Julian actually kicked him out of his house that he paid for to live in. He told me that they were supposed to help pay the rent due to the expenses of tuition that both their parents are responsible for, Julian ended doing most of the dirty work by spending most of his time sweeping the floors and serving the costumers. He was not happy when his cousin ended up becoming a bottomless pit most of the time, and had to stand up for himself. Kuddos to you Julian, I hope the pasta is still delicious.

But now that he's moved into the dorms, my life ended up turning into a living hell. He kept on throwing parties non-stop, his music was so loud that I could barely concentrate, and guess where his room was? Across the hall from mine, and he got a master bedroom filled with a balcony, his door was carved with his Initials on it in gold cursive writing, and I could literally see it all from my window. Topiaries of lions, ivory statutes of Venus, two cupids, and Athena all over the place. And I could see his fancy navy gold and crème colored room filled with crème and gold colored bed sheets, more green leaves hanging around the edges of the ceiling, a huge Brazilian rosewood bookcase, more lion statues, a gold chandelier, a sun plate hanging on his wall, pictures of paintings from the artists I love, and a warm frothy Jacuzzi that he had in his bathroom that smelled like you guessed it, honeysuckle! And he got it all for himself! _Quel trou du cul_.

Me, I have a suite all to myself. I have crème colored walls, white colored bedspread with pink roses and matching pillow cases, my pastry pillow I got from Beaune, my laptop, pink robe, a nice bathroom with marbled floors, tiled black and white walls, and a fancy gold/old fashioned porcelain bathtub with a see through glass door shower. I even have my own microwave and refrigerator. My curtains are crème with golden detail, the edges of my ceiling were decorated with pink roses and fleur de-lis, and the light hangs from my ceiling and its round like the full moon. My door has a gold fleur de lis on it with a hook on it to hang my stuff on, like my bag or whatever. The front on the other side also has my initials SRM on it in gold and looks so much better than that guy's initials, or so I think they are (btw, my name tag is protected with glass so in case he tries to scribble on it, it will end up on the glass instead, and its super easy to wipe off. Plus the glass sleeve is bulletproof and cannot be broken). Ok, so maybe I have some spoiled sophisticated taste myself. But at least I don't show off, and take up almost the whole floor with a huge suite.

I check my email, and Paigey responded in French this time.

_Bonjour Stephanie!_

_Merci pour l'e-mail, je fais bien, ma famille et moi venons de passer de grâces. Nous avons eu la dinde, sauce aux canneberges, purée aux herbes, et l'igname avec guimauves et ananas. Je dois admettre que votre recette est le meilleure que je l'ai jamais faite, je vous remercie. Donc, le gars que vous avez mentionne, on dirait qu'il pourrait être intéresse en vous, mais a part ça, je ne reviendrai pas laisse arriver a vous. Les garçons sont toujours des moyens de jouer avec les filles de nos jours, ils peuvent ainsi vivre dans un poulailler pour tous je me inquiète. Ne vous inquiétez pas, a mon arrivée en France, nous aurons un meilleur temps soufflant le toit hors château royal mec de ce morveux pour sur. _

_A tout a l'heure mon amie !_

_Paigey _

After that, I locked my door and went back downstairs to meet up for the secret Santa activity. The activity is called "l'ange de noel" the Christmas angel. Basically what we do is the participant buys a gift, and puts the recipients name on it, and then the gift is delivered to their room in front of their door. However, the person sending the gift cannot put their name on the tag telling where it came from. When Christmas Eve came around, I received a present sitting in front of my door; it was all wrapped up in beautiful sugar plum colored gift wrapping with a white rose on it, it came in two small and a large boxes. I took the present, and went into my room to open it. After I opened the gift, I couldn't believe my eyes.

It was the perfume I wanted so badly, including the tray! I smelled it, and it was definitely the same honeysuckle scent that I remembered smelling the last time I saw it though the window. When I walked by the other day, it was gone. But now, I'm happy to have it on my nightstand. I sniffed it once more, and it had the exact same notes I remembered inhaling, honeysuckle, lilies, green grasse, sandalwood and amber, I knew nothing has changed, and no one even dared to pour out this lovely scent. Plus, it's better than snooty guys scented bubble baths; his honeysuckle scents don't smell anything like mine. I put the tray and the bottle on my nightstand, and then I noticed a box of chocolates, calissons, postcards of Aix-en Provence, and a gold butterfly necklace with a note on it.

_Cher Stéphanie_

_Joyeux Noël a la plus belle, gentille et intelligente fille que je connais. Vous avez un fort esprit créatif, et une véritable passion pour l'art, humanités, et la culture de la France. Vous avez un esprit aventureux et vous aimez voyager. Vous rêvez d'explorer le reste du monde, y compris les pays que vous aimez comme Italie et France. Vous avez un bon goût de la mode, et l'amour pour montrer votre cote chic et féminin beaucoup. Votre amour de la lecture et de l'écriture me coupe le souffle, et le son de votre voix est élégant comme les anges. Si tout homme devait avouer son admiration pour vous, il vous dirait ses émotions écrites sous son cœur. _

_Pouvez-vous être bénis avec une bonne et heureuse année. _

_D'un véritable genre ange cœur _

The note had literally taken my breath away, nobody would usually write me sappy love letters before. But this wasn't just a sappy love letter; it was a letter with deep emotions stating how this person personally feels about me.

Well, we will see how the New Year turns out.

Back in my little dream world, the Queen and I were conversing with how Amelie and Nino where trying to plan the most beautiful wedding of the century. She agreed to come with me to help out with the themes and stuff on our carriage ride to Paris, and The Palace of Versailles to pay dear Marie Antoinette a visit, and yes you can talk to ghosts in dreams cause spirits can visit you in the subconscious and the unconscious. We also do some shopping and we all have a blast including Nino despite being a man lol. Marie Antoinette was thrilled to help out with the wedding festivities so that it turns out to be the ultimate wedding of the century!

I wake up "sigh" again, and start daydreaming about my adventures in Wonderland with the two British and French queens I have great pleasure spending time with. I tell Paige about my dreams, and she was fascinated by it that I continue telling my crazy fictional dreams all night long on FaceTime despite the time difference.

Chapter 8: Disons la fête commence!

A week after New Years, Paigey arrived to Aix-en Provence on the bus. I helped her out, and took her upstairs to my room. As she was unpacking her suitcases, I sat on her bed holding the note in my hands.

"Comment était votre voyage en France? »

« Il était passionnette mais très épuisant, je devais prendre trois vols vers Londres, puis a Paris, puis a Lyon. Je devais aussi prendre le train vers Marseille et enfin le bus. »

« wow, et je pensais que je serais mort au moment ou je suis arrive ici. »

« Droite ! »

Later, we all met in the amphitheatre to announce the students who achieved honor roll status last semester, plus welcome Paigey.

"Bonjour et bienvenue, je espère que vous avez eu une bonne pause d'hiver. L'an dernier, deux étudiants ont montre beaucoup de dévouement dans leurs études, et nous sommes heureux d'annoncer l'étudiant avec la plus grande GPa a 4.0 est… Stéphanie Morse ! »

Everyone started cheering; me and Paigey were hugging each other all happy.

"Et la deuxième personne pour recevoir un tableau d'honneur a 3.75 est …Leonard Monet »

Only half of the people clapped, when he rose up, I was like "that's him?"

"Paige! That's the guy who would always insult me!"

"OMG, but he looks so cute!"

"Yeah, a little too cute if you ask me."

"Hey, he might not be as bad as you think. I mean look at me and my boyfriend back at home."

" Que la nouvelle année attire, je voudrais souhaiter la bienvenue un autre étudiante américaine Paige McDonald a Aix-en Provence. Comme vous pouvez le voir, Stéphanie et Paige arriver à être les meilleures amies depuis le lycée et sont a la fois a partir de San Francisco en Californie. Notre étudiante de tableau d'honneur ici va aider a guider sur le campus et était assez dispose a abandonner sa chambre unique afin qu'elle puisse faire se sentir comme a la maison. Nous attendons préface a Paige avoir la meilleure expérience de sa vie, bienvenue Paige McDonald a Aix-en Provence. »

We went back to our room to celebrate; Gina came over and brought some friends along with her. They brought in a stereo system, some hors d'œuvres, and some ipads/iphones to listen to some music. They admired Paige's corner as well as my own, her side has pictures of Paris, Italy, Hawaii, and London, pink bedding, her speaker doc, imac, books, American and French snacks, food, and drinks, pink butterfly lights, pictures of her boyfriend and us in high school, and some dvds.

Later we went to the club for some drinks, and non-stop dancing to start the weekend.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 9: Changement d'esprit

After the party, me and Paigey went back to our room. Still sober and awake, we both went to go do some more devoir. One hour passes by, and we fall asleep.

The next day, we both went to the cafeteria to eat our food. Today's special was tomato bisque with croutons, steak frites, and for dessert, Mille-feuille and Éclairs. We grab our food, and went to go sit at the table Gina had saved for us.

"Je aime manger de la nourriture ici, c'est tres bon!" said Paigey

« Moi aussi, pour je préfère le soupe. » said Gina

« Agréable »

To the right of the cafeteria, we see artwork being displayed on the walls. The one that really captured my attention was the metamorphosis drawing with the red moon changing into the sun with the quote "_Tu es le soleil et je suis la lune_" (You are the sun, and I am the moon). The drawing is from an unknown artist, whoever did this portrait is a true visionary with a good insight on what he or she has captured and created from their own two hands.

"J'aime mieux l'art, c'est tres interessant" said Gina

"Oui, et tres belle" said Paigey

Suddenly, I catch a glance from across the table. It's "Leonard" trying to grab my attention to him, there is no way in hell that I am going to go up and say "bonjour" after what he did to me last year. I'm on the honor roll for gods sake, then again he is too _malheureusement_. He keeps on staring at me, but I still refuse to even look at his ugly blonde French face with his hideous "_lunettes_" to top it all off. Ugh, I just want to get out of there.

We finish our food, and then go outside to the marches of Aix-en-Provence. First stop was the flower stands; Paigey looked at those bright pink roses and bought herself a nice bouquet to put in our room. Gina was more into the white lilies, and other basic yet simply not too girly flowers. I gazed at those lovely orangey peach colored roses, I was sighing at how much they remind me of home. After we left the stands, we go shopping for some new clothes and accessories, and end our day at the patisserie. I have one of their native specialties called a "tarte Tropezienne".

Back at the dorms, me and Paigey were walking back to our room when I saw a bouquet of flowers already put in a vase for "me?"

There was also a note attached to it, I picked up the orange peach roses along with the note and placed the flowers on my nightstand while reading the perfectly cursive handwriting written on the letter from my "mysterious friend."

"_Tout l'amour que l'histoire sait est dit dans chaque rose. Encore tout l'amour que l'on peut trouver dans les deux, est inférieur à ce que je ressens pour vous. » _

Translation: « All the love that history knows is said to be in every rose. Yet all the love that would be found in two is less than what I feel for you."

I was shocked, who on earth would send me flowers and knew exactly which kind I liked the most?

"Hey, where did those flowers come from?" Paigey asked

"Je ne sais pas mon amie." I replayed

"I bet that it was from that hot "Leonard" guy right?"

"Oh s'il tous plait! Leonard, really?"

"Pourqoui? You always tell me how much he annoys the hell out of you, maybe that's the real reason why he wants your attention so badly."

I look back at the beautiful vase filled with my roses, thinking that maybe Paigey is right.

What if he really does like me? If so, why would he even send me such lovely expensive gifts?

I asked the Queen of Hearts and Amelie for advice on this man's advances he made on me, and to whether or not to continue pursuing his kind gestures. The dream continues on as the dream wedding continues to shape up, while the two queens and I are gossiping endlessly for hours on end.

Chapter 10: "Frappe par la flèche de Cupidon"

It's almost Saint Valentin (Valentine's Day), and the thoughts of Leonard are still floating in my head. He appears in my dreams almost every night, looks at me wherever I go, and always surprises me with his letters he places in front of my door frequently.

I grab a seat at the table to eat my lunch in private.

"Bonjour? Est-il correct si je suis assis ici? »

I look up, and see Leonard standing right behind me wanting to start a conversation with me.

"Oui, avoir un siege."

He grabs a seat next to me, his eyes fixed on mine.

"Je suis désole, se il vous plait pardonnez-moi pour toutes les fois ou je te ai blesse. »

I refused to look at his face, even though he was right next to me.

"Je voulais juste que vous me aimez, mais il fait plus de mal que de bien, et je veux qu'il soit a vous… »

« Qu'est-ce que vous avez a l'esprit ? »

« Je pensais peut-être aller sur une promenade le samedi ? »

« Bien »

That following Saturday, we met up near the fountain at the Place d'Albertas. We walked on this path that had two statues on both sides facing each other from a distance, the trees showing the spring green leaves, the swallows singing, the smell of the freshly made food in the marches of Provence, and chocolat.

We talked about our hobbies, personal pursuits, and lives. I was surprised he knew a lot about me than I though he would, despite the fact he used to stalk me all the time.

*The conversation is in English this time.

"Tell me Stephanie, if you were to change one thing about yourself, what would it be?"

"Hmm, that's a tricky one." I said "I mean personally I wouldn't change anything other than my tendency to be self-centered most of the time."

"I would agree with that."

"Why?"

"I guess you can say that I once was a person I never fully liked in the first place." He said smiling.

Where was he going with this?

"When I was ten, my parents never spent any time with me. They tend to favor my cousin Julian for everything he does in his academics, I felt as if they never wanted me in the first place. Whenever I try to please them, it's like all they cared about was themselves and their careers. My dad wasn't like that before, he would always spend a lot of time with me in the park, and sometimes he would take me to the zoo to pet the animals in the menageries. There were also times where we go ride the carousals, build sandcastles in Nice, and even ride hot air balloons together."

"That sounds like a lot of fun; I have always wanted to ride in a hot air balloon."

"You have?"

"Yeah, no only that but go do the things you used to love doing."

"I still do, just by myself though. I never usually ask anyone to hangout with me, and the girls I used to hangout with just do nothing but humiliate me as if they weren't really interested in the first place. All they would ever try to do is get inside my pants. I'm also a virgin, and don't plan on having sex until I'm married."

"Have you ever dated any of them?"

"Technically yes, I kissed every single girl you can imagine, that was it. I could tell none of them wanted anything to do with me, it made me so angry that I wanted to punch a mirror or something, and I thought…" He paused for a moment, looking up at the sky. "That I wasn't going to stop, and end up becoming a monster from what I've become. A man with a big ego, no life, no friends, parents who barely even notice their own son, an intelligent yet sophisticated and snooty cousin who probably hates me, and then I see you..."

"Doing what?" I asked all worried and confused

"Probably thinking that I'm the worst person in the world trying to fit in like everybody else."

"I would never think of anything like that! Yeah, I hated that you were an asshole in the first place but that doesn't mean you are a bad person Leo!"

His face flashed back to mine all surprised "You don't?" he asked all teary eyed.

"Of course not."

He moved closer to me on the bench, and placed his hand on mine.

"I'm glad you think so, because I'm not what you think I am. All those rumors you hear about me sleeping with every girl I date, pushing people around, and me being a bully are not true. Everything Julian told you are all lies, every girl is jealous of you because of me wanting to…"

"To what?"

"Be with you, an innocent young woman whose hair is as red as the flames from the fire, eyes with the rich chocolat color hidden inside each iris, skin pale as the ivory statues, a mind filled with many talents and structured yet complex inner thoughts, a heart build like metal that's strong like the fleur de lys, and a rose that's never been plucked."

I was left breathless, not even a single breath I inhale could fill my lungs with air.

"Stephanie, I think you're an amazing person. You are everything that I look for in a girl like you, kind, understanding, outgoing, adventurous, creative, and intelligent. Will you be my Valentine?"

My heart fluttered with every pounding vessel in my blood stream.

"Yes Leonard, it would be my honor."

Later in the dorms, Paigey comes in and asks.

"Hey, watcha doin?"

I look at her smiling.

"What's going on?"

"Paigey, I got asked to be somebody's Valentine!"


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 11: La vie est Belle

Me and Paigey were just hanging out for a little bit before our next classes.

Ever since Leonard confessed his love for me, Paigey has been asking me endless questions non-stop. It was getting kind of annoying yet exciting at the same time. Everyday, I would walk across the halls and get a ton of glances from the guys checking me out. Of course, they won't last long once Leonard approaches me with his arms around my waist.

When Valentines Day came along, Leonard and I went to our favorite café across the street from the university. We sat on the terrace overlooking the ocean, the breeze swept upon the palm trees, kids are playing with the beach ball, two bassets are racing each other to fetch the stick, and a sandcastle contest was also taking place.

"Have you ever built a sandcastle?" Leonard asked me

"I have, but it's nothing compared to the ones here in France."

"One time, my dad and I were at a beach not too far from here. I brought all my stuff that day to make the biggest sand castle you can imagine."

"Really?"

"Of course, mon cherie. Would I ever tell a lie?"

Then he showed me a picture on his ipad, it had a dark sapphire blue case with a picture of the most wonderful castle I've ever seen.

"That is really good, where was this?"

"Calvi beach, it's near Corsica."

"Did you used to travel around France a lot?"

"Oui, I used to love going to places all the time."

I looked around, and then my eyes met up with his.

"Maybe we can go back to those places, what do you think?"

He smiled "Sounds like a plan cherie."

Leonard leaned in, and we started to kiss.

I knew this was going to be the start of something new.

Chapter 12:

**Return to England or Bust**

It's been since Valentine's Day back when I was still with Leonard. Until sadly he passed away from a recent violent gun shooting which made me act suicidal for months. I wanted to be with my one true love, and now he's gone because of his stupid god damn family! Julien, his obnoxious cousin wouldn't care less if he loved his cousin long enough to care about his mental wellbeing but seriously, who the fuck even thinks that? Paige is happily engaged to her boyfriend of 2 years after finally setting a date for the wedding to take place sometime in June which I think is a good idea compared to just staying at home at your boring local church, sorry Jesus I still love and worship you. Gina is doing well but her mental health was deteriorating, feel like total shit after a couple of hangovers from her drinking problems and having to go to rehab because of it. Athena's grandmother died, Albert was having gastrointestinal problems related to IBS, and Breanna I believe is directing her next movie in Hollywood and her partying skills are going to pick up I think, god forbid she dies before seeing her first Grammy award for the wildest party animal in the world. Apparently, Beatrice wants to be called Breanna because she thinks it's better cause she wants to hang with Rihanna backstage or something.

I kept having dreams about Amelie's and Nino Wedding which ironically relates to Paige's dream wedding only the theme for this wedding was lemon themed for the month of June with a wild strawberry themed wedding tier with red hearts which happened to be the Queen's idea which we all loved and as a result, she no longer got mad over the smallest things. Marie Antoinette helped with the rest of the decorating and the most beautiful wedding dress of the century. The rest of the characters in Wonderland were also at the wedding which included the Cheshire Cat, the Red and White Queens, The Mad Hatter, March Hare, Doormouse, the Tweedle Twins, and almost everyone I can think of. Collingion apologized for being a total prick and brought a gift basket for the newly weds filled with all sorts of fruits and vegetables including a bottle of champagne and Foie Gras. Collingion also brought me a nice mini basket of wild strawberries with a side of freshly baked Madelines and Creme Fraiche to dip them in which I thought was very nice. There was a huge feast after the wedding which was filled with beef stew, green salads, lemonade, and all English and French cuisine from all over the regions of each country. Then we saw the happy couple motorcycle away into the sunset on their plane to Tahiti.

I decided to go to England with Paige to help pick out her wedding gown. We finally found a pink one that would look adorable on her with tulle ruffles on the sleeves, lace, fake diamonds, roses, and the magical works in the making. But then major plot twist (yes plot twist). I was waiting for Paige to get out of the dressing room until I saw a familiar and alarming face I've haven't seen in years since leaving for France to start my new life with my soon to be three roomies, Paige and her fiancée Gerald whom she met on campus during a volleyball match at the beach, and his family owns part of a fancy casino in Monte Carlo so Paige invited me her bestie to be part of her family adventures. We are going to be sisters for life, and it's the greatest thing that's ever happened so now I just ignore what's happening and enjoy my new life with my famille.

Chapter 1: La Famille

I was excited and yet terrified, I didn't know what to feel when I saw that man back in the bridal shop. It sounded like his women he was going to marry decided to go off to be with someone else, and he leaves with a new woman. To help keep that kind of thought out of sight out of mind, I decided to go out and get some fresh air for me from the vibrant Spring green grass. When I celebrated my birthday in April, I went to Monet's Garden in Paris with my parents, and I saw the most beautiful 'fleurs' meaning flowers. There were Tulips from Amsterdam which I really loved that also made get inspired to go to Amsterdam and find the Tulip fields so that we can also spot the Dutch windmills as my mom and I were snapping beautiful pictures on our new iPhones. Then mom and I decided to go down to the weed bar to smoke us some pot just like they do it in hella Cali y'all. Sativa, Indica, mixed hybrids, Blue Dream, you name it. After Amsterdam in Dutch town, we went to Germany to see the castle that inspired Walt Disney to write Snow White back in the 1930's; as naughty as her personally sounds to others in my generation, I've grown to appreciate the classics overtime. Bavaria was one of the other places my mom wanted to go to before she dies, including Amsterdam, Austria, England, Spain, Puerto Rico, and many islands in the Caribbean and Hawaii. I preferred French Polynesia over anything if I had the choice.

My dreams still haunt me for some reason, I feel as if something were about to happen. After I wake up, it's always bound to happen. I make myself want to vomit sometimes, or even overdose all together. I mean can't I enjoy a good night's sleep without feeling like I want to go fucking jump off the fence, and then get myself stuck in the ditch or killed all together? It's always something related to my past whether it was family issues, ex-boyfriends, bitches, and dead pets. Four years ago, after Valentine's Day, Leonard told me how he used to be bullied back in high school for being the class nerd, his nasal passages due to asthma, and for being the only guy with the largest penis in the whole class. Now at first, I thought he was joking about the whole penis thing, but I can imagine being the only guy with the most matured brain probably due to an early growth spurt and a nice big set of famille bijou's (French for family jewels) and still feel like shit for days on end. Trying not to choke on my steak frite at the time, I looked at my fiancée cause I never felt so captivated and turned on by his story but also sympathetic at the same time. He died when he was in a dark alley trying to get back on to campus when all of a sudden, a random shooter was firing bullets around killing everyone in his or her path cause the suspect still remains unknown at this time but it was a mass causality situation because there may have been some form of stalking or possibly terrorism involved.

I missed my boyfriend terribly, death was not something I was prepared for like when my friend Ronique died from a drive by gun shooting back on December 3, 2015. It was a very sad year for me and ended up getting PTSD as a result of her untimely death at the age of 20. Now all I have left to do is pray for myself as I go through another grievance for the loss of my one true love.

Leonard Manet.

Chapter 2: L'amour du Coeur

I decided to move to England because I figured that I can start a new life here. I promised Paige and her fiancée that I would visit Monte Carlo when I'm on break after the first semester ends in the fall. I dated a couple of British men but so far was unsuccessful in the dating department. Ever since Leonard's death, I've had trouble finding the right man for me to share my life with. After eating my fish in chips, I stumbled across the most beautiful English rose gardens I've ever seen. Leonard would have loved it, but then I decided that it was time to move on from him and so I buried his box full of favorite things under a beautiful pink English rose bush that smelled like Honeydew melons, and succulent white peaches in a fruitful fertile scented orchard.

A voice suddenly started to appear in my head, it was the Queen of Hearts!

"My dear, you are in England now. Don't worry about finding new love, there are plenty of suitors out there waiting to pursue you. Now go out there and socialize!"

Then my dream finally came true, I met an English man with sea-foam green eyes with glasses and golden blonde hair named John Collington. And it was definitely love at first sight in the English rose garden. We both share everything in common, and finally after 2 years of dating we got married and had a beautiful ceremony in the Shetland Islands near the border of Scotland and Norway. Our child was born the following year on July 30th, and has strawberry blonde hair with sea-foam green eyes like her daddy; her name was Madeline Nicole Collington.

Thanks for reading my story, and I hope you enjoyed it!


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